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The Best Banana Bread You'll Ever Have (with Bourbon and Chocolate Chunks)

My mom used to make banana bread when we were growing up. We'd smell it in the kitchen, and I'd request tastes right when it came out of the oven, when the bananas were soft, mushy and a little too hot. The memory alone makes me homesick for Michigan! Well, luckily, the fabulous Joy the Baker has agreed to share her #1 banana bread recipe with us today, and (record scratch) it includes bourbon and chocolate chunks. As she says, it's "bonkers delicious." Here's the recipe...The Best Banana Bread You'll Ever Have (With Bourbon and Chocolate Chunks)
By Joy the Baker, from the new Joy the Baker Cookbook

I'm convinced this is the best banana bread to ever grace the world. I know this to be true because it's the bread my grandmother has been making for the past 60 years. With 60 years of love and tweaking, it's buttery and moist with plenty of ripe banana flavor--pretty much perfect. Slice by slice, I promise you'll devour at least half of this loaf within hours of it coming out of the oven.

My grandmother's recipe was only *close* to perfection because she hadn't added my two favorite ingredients: bourbon and dark chocolate chunks. With a hint of booze and chocolate, this banana is transformed from great to unbeatable.Recipe: The Best Banana Bread
Makes 1 loaf

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8x4-inch or 9x5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Stop the mixer, scrape down sides of the bowl, and add bananas, lemon juice and bourbon. Beat until well incorporated.

Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture all at once. Beat until almost incorporated. Stop the mixer and remove the bowl. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips and incorporate the last of the ingredients with a spatula.

Batter will be thick. Spoon the mixture into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow loaf to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve with milky coffee and enjoy!

Banana bread will keep for up to 5 days, well wrapped, at room temperature.Delicious! Thank you so much, Joy!

This looks glorious. I want to add it to my pinterest board, but wanted to make sure that's cool from your perspective before I do so. So, are you okay with folks pinning the images (with direct linking back to your posts)?

I have to try this! I thought I had THE best recipe (It's from the NY Times Cookbook) but yes... it can only be CLOSE to perfection because it lacks booze and chocolate. (Maybe I'll make this recipe AND the other recipe, adding the bourbon and chocolate to the other recipe, too, and see how I fare?)

This is the only thing I actually bake. I generally don't bake because I'm not precise enough for it but banana breads and things like them are so easy and versatile and hard to mess up. I've been using this recipe for years though since it's so easy: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Aunt-Hollys-Banana-Bread-239027

This sounds seriously amazing! I'm going to have to try. I really love this series, so far, I've tried the chunky chocolate chip cookie recipe which was a hit and I'm going to do the spaghetti sauce next!! Thanks for this!

oh this sounds good!i've started adding coconut to mine, i guess the caribbean is taking over! of course i always put chocolate chips and walnuts in there too. but will have to try this one with bourbon, yummy!

My boys and I were going to make my grandma's banana bread today. I grew up putting chocolate chips in out batter and we make muffins. I will have to try with the bourbon. Delicious! Thanks for sharing!

Any suggestions for high altitude? I live in Denver and it really affects my baking! I know there are standard substitutions to make but each recipe is different. Would love to hear thoughts as I am still new in the kitchen.....Thanks!

Joanna, Can I just say that I am loving this cooking series! One of my resolutions this year is to re-learn the basics, really well. I'm already hooked on your "best egg sandwich" recipe/technique. Some ingredients are hard to come by in Cambodia though...

OMG - banana bread is one of my favorite things, as are bourbon and chocolate, so I'm pretty sure this will be my new favorite recipe. I just put a batch in the oven, and the batter tasted like what a Chunky Monkey-bourbon milkshake might taste like - heaven!

... it's in the oven this very minute! Looks sooo good! Had to translate the recipe into Danish measurements ... cross my fingers I did it right - based on the smell coming from my kitchen I did! ;) *YUM* Thanks!

Jo! I must admit I was a little like "yeah, whatever, surely this can't be the best banana bread recipe ever". But wholey moley, it was freakin amazing! And SO filling. Unfortunately I can't stop eating it, and neither can my husband, so our bellies are filling up with this delicious goodness. Thanks for sharing.

Oh my, something went awfully wrong with my bread. I used the suggested 8x4 pan...which was way too small. Everything bubbled over and then the top became brown and crisp and finished while the inside was still molten. I've been trying to save it now (foil, rotating the pan, extreme swearing) and I hope it can be salvaged...

So I realize this is six months later, but I just made this bread last night- I didn't have any bourbon, so I used 1/2 bourbon vanilla extract and 1/2 amaretto- wow! You can definitely taste it but it's soooo good. Also used chocolate chips rather than chocolate chunks- I'm quite pleased with the result :) Thanks for this 'Best' Food Series, Joanna!

I just made this today. I don't have a stand mixer, but I have a food processor with a dough setting. It worked great, and the bread is AMAZING! It truly is the best banana bread I've ever had! We will definitely make this again and again. Easy and scrumptious!

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I tried this recipe and couldn't taste the bourbon and I thought the bread was pretty dry. It had a good taste, but I need a moist bread. Did anyone else have this problem or was it a problem with my baking?

Jo, I made this recipe of yours and followed all measurements and ingredients except for the bourbon which i did not have, so substituted brandy instead, it came out DELICIOUS!!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and making my Banana Bread world so much better!!

Just made it. Awesome. Baked it for 48 min. Very moist, nice depth of flavor, which I credit to the bourbon. Followed the recipe exactly. So glad I tried this after having a failure with the Nutella Swirl Banana bread (which called for 1 1/2 teas salt...way too much). This recipe is a winner!